Meet the Student Crew

Not only do we have a bunch of talented consultants but also a very sharp and hard-working crew of students. These people run their own projects and sales meetings, code like bunnies and make sure all Roadies are well taken care of. Keep on reading and get to know some these uncut diamonds.

Who are you, and where + what do you study?

I'm Tuuli-Marie, an intern at Columbia Road while finishing my studies at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. I study Business and Information Technology, with specialization in Software Development.

I’m Toni, a consultant at Columbia Road and a 4th year Industrial Engineering and Management student in Aalto University.

My name is Marju and I study law at University of Helsinki.

What made you decide that you'd like to work at Columbia Road?

Tuuli: I wanted to work in a small company with agile methods and a modern vibe. Since I study both business and IT, Columbia Road sounded like the perfect place to combine these two fields.

Toni: The opportunity to get the best of both worlds: work as a consultant and to work at a startup. It seemed like a challenging job, which is great as I was eager to learn new things. Also, the people here seemed awesome.

Marju: I’m going to be honest with this question. I really never thought I would be working for private sector. But when the Roadie path opened for me the most obvious reason played an important role: possibility to learn. Columbia Road seemed to be human enough and fair - yet demanding. Digitalisation is today’s hot topic and gaining a better understanding of it as a whole was too good of an opportunity to pass.

What have you learned and what are your expectations?

Tuuli: I have been working at Columbia Road only for a month now, but I have already learned so much. From the first day on, I got to work in an interesting project, using technologies that I hadn’t used before. I have the best co-developers, who back me up whenever I need, but give me room to realize myself. From the future, I hope interesting projects where I can learn and challenge myself everyday.

Toni: It has been a steep learning curve, especially with sales. First I was drafting proposals, next thing I know I was in a sales meeting with one of my co-workers and by mid-summer I was already leading new sales meetings. Also, I have learned about themes around digital commerce, like customer experience management, web analytics and ecommerce project management.

I have high expectations for the future. I hope to continue to help customers related to digital sales and digital strategies. Also, I’ll want to continue doing some sales myself. To sum up, I want to stay uncomfortable in the right way.

Marju: I have learned that I like to do projects. Organising events and building a new office have taught me project management skills and my people skills have improved plenty. I also have a better overall view on processes and how to make things happen. As a law student I’m also interested in the paper work. Labour law is a challenging field of law but I have had a great teacher and learned a great deal of stuff at Columbia Road so that would be something to mention. I have also learnt something about a good company culture.

Before this job the consulting world appeared too hectic for me and I thought it’s for workaholics only. Columbia Road has taught me that it doesn’t have to be so. One of the best lines I have heard in my job is “people first” said by Lauri Eloranta. In the future I want to dig deeper into labour law and IT law. I’m expecting challenging new tasks in that field. I also want to learn more about finance and figures for one of my work projects.

What is the best part about working at Columbia Road?

Tuuli: I love working with these inspiring people who are passionate about their work. Everyone is always helping each other and cheering when you succeed.

Toni: The people here and the continuous learning. I enjoy working with the brightest people, I think it’s great fun and a fast way to learn new tricks.

Marju: Best thing is the responsibility given to you. It’s a learning platform that you can’t top easily. I’ve been encouraged to make decisions by myself and to do stuff even more proactively. It has improved my occupational self-esteem. People at CR seem to value learning and teaching. It’s not about invoicing clients. It’s about making us the future professionals. Oh, and the people… You just got to love the people! The amount of support they give you when things seem to get out of hand or you just simply need help with something. They have also made karaoke bearable.